1. Field of Invention
The present invention relates generally to the field of multi-hop work transfers. More specifically, the present invention is related to identifying and visualizing work transfers using financial data.
2. Discussion of Related Art
One of the most important advantages that global enterprises have compared to local firms is that they can more easily obtain skills in a wider range of geographical locations. For example, IT firms can provide certain services to their clients in one country by using employees located in another country where skilled IT workers are available. Global firms benefit from the ability to allocate work to the location best able to do the work based on available skills and billing rates, as well as factors like proximity to client, governmental policies, and languages spoken.
In global enterprises, transferring work from one location to another is common, and such transfers often occur on an ad-hoc basis. For example, when a global service firm develops a plan for service delivery for its client, the firm determines which delivery center to use for certain services based on information about the skills available in each delivery center. However, the information about available skills in each delivery center may change over time requiring that adjustments be made, including moving the work to another delivery center. Thus, when a delivery center receives a work request for a certain service from another location, the delivery center may not possess the required skills to perform the work, and thus needs to transfer the work to another delivery center. Such work transfers may also occur in multiple steps because information about skills availability may not be accurate when the transfer is made or because availability levels may change over time.
Work transfers may occur repeatedly if the firm is unable to identify recurring patterns in the transfer of work. Unnecessary work transfers incur transactional costs for the firm, including the time needed for workers in the new delivery center to gain knowledge of the client's IT and business context. In addition to financial costs, the churn has an impact on client satisfaction and service quality, which can be affected by service delays and disruptions in service delivery.